Football Association chairman David Bernstein believes the English game must learn from the appearance of two German sides in the Champions League final.
Bernstein, who is leaving his post this summer after reaching its age limit of 70, would like to see the Premier League taking a leaf out of the Bundesliga’s book by reducing its reliance on imported players.
He believes the English club scene can become significantly stronger if youngsters are given a greater opportunity at the highest level.
Bernstein said England had “a lot to learn” from the clash of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, in a season when no English club managed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
He told Sky Sports News: “They’re two superb teams and I think there’s a potential shift in the balance of power in European football, from Spain to Germany.
“One of the things we need to follow is the number of German players playing in the top division.
“Fifty per cent of their players are German, we’ve got about 30 per cent of English players in the Premier League, and we need many more English players, young English players, playing at the top level.
“That’s probably the biggest single lesson. You need a big pool of players to choose from.”
A strong English club game, heavily populated by home-grown talent, would inevitably benefit the national team.
England last reached a major semi-final at the 1996 European Championship, as hosts.
Bernstein says plans already in place to encourage the development of youngsters should bear fruit in the future.
“I think we are making a lot of progress,” he said.
“We have a big youth development program in this country, St George’s Park, the National Football Centre, is now open, so we’re very optimistic.
“It’ll take a few years but there’s good English players coming along – young English players – and we expect many more: skill-based players, players who enjoy the game.
“We’re trying to get away from this physical, winning-at-all-costs for very young players and to try to emulate some of the better things happening on the continent with young skill-based players.”